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Help young homeless people by giving up your warm bed and sleeping rough for a night this spring.

YMCA Cambridgeshire and Peterborough's big sleep-out event 'Sleep Easy 2017' on Friday, March 3, aims to raise funds to support YMCA accommodation services and help make the future brighter for vulnerable young homeless people in Cambridgeshire.

Individuals, groups and businesses are being asked to brave the night air and sleep rough in makeshift shelters in the grounds of St Catharine’s College, Cambridge.

The charity say hidden homelessness is a major problem in the UK, and over 80,000 young people face homelessness every year – three times official figures.

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Starting at 7pm at St Catharine’s College sports ground, sleepers will be given materials to build a shelter to experience a 12-hour snapshot of what it’s like to be homeless.

Hot refreshments and entertainment will be provided, and running water and toilet facilities will be available – a luxury not accessible to many rough sleepers.

Dean of St Catharine’s College Chapel Rev’d Dr David Neaum slept rough when he first arrived in Cambridge from Australia.

Rev'd Dr David Neaum slept rough when he first arrived in Cambridge

After plans to couch surf or find a hostel bed fell through, Rev’d Neaum slept rough in Hodson’s Folly on Coe Fen with a newspaper tucked under his jumper for warmth.

This experience led him to support Sleep Easy 2017, where this time he will sleep rough in aid of others.

Rev'd Neaum said: “I will never forget waking up shivering from the cold with the mist rising off the river.

“For me, as for many people, it was bad luck and bad timing.

“But I was fortunate in that I was only out for one night – so many face sleeping rough night after night.

“With services squeezed and countless people only a couple of pay packages from the streets we need to support charities that work with the vulnerable, the homeless and the young people on our streets.”

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He added: “Without the support of the YMCA, there would be many more sleeping rough.”

Last year’s Sleep Easy saw 35 people sleep rough in the cloisters on Peterborough Cathedral, raising over £6,000.

Verity Swinscoe, Marketing and Fundraising Officer at the YMCA, slept out last year. She said: “It was definitely an eye-opener. You don’t quite realise how uncomfortable it can be, or how damp and cold it gets at night.